Manual:Infantry Manual:Organization:Types of Units

Types of Units
Infantry units are highly flexible and may be organized in several fashions as best suits the mission. To best understand the organization of such units, let us look at the building blocks of Marine Infantry organization.

Platoon and Company Types
Platoon & company types are formed based on mission requirements and logistical considerations. These platoons can then be combined in various ways to form a myriad of company types. These platoon types can usually be either Powered or Light, unless otherwise specified below. The most common platoon types are:
 * Light Infantry Rifle Platoon
 * A platoon that uses light weapons such as the R944 Phaser Rifle and R217 7mm Machine Gun. The team leaders rifle is usually equipped with a grenade launcher attachment.
 * Heavy Weapons Platoon
 * A platoon that fields mortars, man-portable missile systems, and other heavy weapons to support Light Infantry rifle platoons. Powered HW Platoons are usually equipped with Magnum suits.
 * The Assault Platoon
 * These platoons specialize in covert and “forced-entry” insertion operations. Powered Assault Platoons are assembled with whatever suits and specialists best fit the terrain / mission.
 * Reconnaissance Platoon
 * A concentration of Battlefield Surveillance Specialists and specially trained Infantrymen to increase the tactical intelligence available to the battlefield commander. The Powered Recon Platoon is equipped with scouting Pathfinder suits.
 * Scout / Sniper Platoon
 * A different and much more specialized reconnaissance platoon, these can often be combined with standard recon platoons for even more effective intelligence gathering and battlefield surveillance. There is no equivalent Powered Platoon type here. Powered Armor does not lend itself to stalking and concealment.
 * Aeromobile
 * This designation indicates that the Infantry unit has been assigned subordinate aerospace units, and that those organic (belonging to the Infantry unit) air elements are capable of transporting all of the Infantry unit’s assets. This is naturally a large and complex force that few starships outside amphibi-ous assault craft can embark. However, a few of the larger classes (i.e. Galaxy & Sovereign) do em-bark such units, which are used as Rapid Deployment Forces for trouble spots and other crises. Aer-omobile Infantry Units are rarely larger than Company-sized.
 * Special Operations Capable
 * An SOC designation means the unit is trained in a limited but important range of special operations missions. While equipped and prepared to carry out such missions at a moment’s notice, these are not the small, elite Spec Ops. They are standard Infantry units with specialized training and equip-ment, and, therefore, fall outside the Special Operations Branch. A unit can receive the SOC designa-tion if all members complete SO-100 & SO-201.

Fields of Service
The Infantry Branch is divided into seven related areas, called Fields of Service. These fields of service are based on mission and equipment used.

Light Infantry (LI)
Ground troops that fight on foot with a minimum of carried weapons in fast-moving, adapta-ble formations are Light Infantry. Also known as LI, today’s light infantry bears a strong re-semblance to the first infantry, even though their weapons & gear have changed. Light in-fantry units are what most people think of when they hear “Marine”. The use of LI is a bit more limited in the 24th century, since the lightly protected infantryman is susceptible pow-erful weapon systems of today.

Powered Infantry (PI)
Power Infantry has been a part of the ground forces of several civilizations since before the founding of the SFMC. The technology has been improved and by the time of the Dominion War powered infantry had be-come an extremely effective weapon. This “powered armor” is less of a Mecha and more than exoskeleton. It is a fully mechanized and articulated suit individually fitted to the infantryman that includes life support, weap-ons, fire control, communications, and essential supplies. While it is not organic technology, any powered infantryman will tell you their suit is an extension of themselves. There are five types of PI Suits:

Suit Control Principles: Negative Feedback
Except for the obvious difference in scale, PI suits resemble some types of Mecha vehicles. This leads the general public to assume controls and operation of each are the same, but nothing can be further from the truth. Mecha vehicles are vehicles: the pilot sits at controls that he operates both with his hands, and through his neural interface helmet. A PI suit is fitted to its wearer and operates as an extension of himself. It adds to his strength, his speed, and his survivability, but it functions with him, not for him.

It does this through a complex system of sensors which press themselves against the wearer when he climbs into and activates the suit. These then sense the wearer’s body movements on a continual basis. For exam-ple, when the wearer lifts his forearm, the sensors feel the increased pressure between the top of the wear-er’s arm and the inside of the suit’s upper forearm. As long as the wearer continues to push, the suit will raise it’s forearm in an effort to relieve the pressure on the sensors. When the wearer stops their arm, the pressure on the sensors also stops, so the suit’s arm stops. This is negative feedback.

What negative feedback means to the wearer is that the suit moves with them naturally and instinctively from the very first instant they climb into it. They do not have to learn complex controls to make the suit move, they IN MANUAL 13 require only experience in learning the suit’s capabilities. From the first time a recruit climbs into the suit, they can walk, run, jump, pick items up, etc. Of course, not knowing how much the suit amplifies their movements, they may find themselves atop a building the first time they try to jump. That’s where experience comes in.

Suit Capabilities
Powered suits magnify the strength of the wearer by using servomotors and heavy load bearing structural components to increase the power of the wearer’s natural arms and legs. For instance, in a powered suit, the average human can lift 10 to 20 times the amount of weight they could normally lift on a class M planet (the amount varies with suit type). Accordingly, the amount of weight a trooper can carry is increased as well. While this is quite impressive when the items in question are things like people and furniture, the statistic is somewhat less impressive when one notes that this means one Powered Infantryman can only just pick up another.

In the same manner arm strength is amplified, so too is leg strength. Even in the heavy Dreadnought suit, a PI can run at about 30mph. The lighter H227 Viper Suit—built for speed—can manage over 50mph. This means that PI troops very rarely require vehicles for deployment as they can run about as fast as an APC an-yway. Leg strength is amplified in another way as well. By using jump-jet assemblies in the legs (similar to common jet-boots used by recreational mountain climbers), a powered suit can jump much higher than an average hominid. On a class M world a Pathfinder scouting suit can average a vertical leap of 15m with little effort. There is enough fuel in the Pathfinder leg assemblies for a hundred such jumps. The heavier Dragoon suit has neither the height-range nor endurance of the Pathfinder, but even the much heavier assault suit can crank out a 10m vertical leap when need arises.

Powered armor also increases a PI’s survivability by protecting him with both physical and energy armor. The suit’s skin is duranium composite in most areas, very resistant to impact and damage. Vital areas also have a thin layer of cast rhodinium added (helmet, chest, back). If energy usage is not a problem, the suit can also use a low-level force-field that will protect it from most light weapons for a good amount of time. A powered suit also increases a PI’s endurance by providing him with a comfortable environment inside the suit, and by giving him water and nutrients on demand (through a food/water tube inside the helmet). A PI can even sleep inside his suit if necessary (the suit can be set to remain stationary while the trooper relaxes). The real limit to a PI’s endurance, then is his suit, which runs on charge packs similar to a tactical aerospace fighter. Charge pack endurance varies widely with suit load, operating environment, suit type, etc.

Capability Standards
In the following listings of suit types, each suits’ average capabilities are listed. Although it should be noted that since weapons mix, field equipment, and fighting environment can vary widely, these figures are really only valid for comparing one suit type to the others under the same circumstances. The actual maximums of the suit vary too widely to cover ever permutation in this brief guide. For purposes of these comparisons, the following standards are established:
 * 1) The suit is operating in a Class M environment (as defined by Starfleet Regulatory Agency (SFRA) standard 102).
 * 2) The suit environment is being maintained to SFRA standard 102.19 for Class M compatible oxygen-breathing personnel.
 * 3) The suit is being worn by an average hominid (as defined by SFRA-standard 103).
 * 4) The suit is operating with the average ordnance load-out listed in the suit description, and under bat-tlefield conditions

Powered Infantry Suits
There are currently there are five Powered Infantry Suits in the SFMC inventory. Each suit has different ca-pabilities and are used based on the mission parameters. Below you will find a description of each suit, its specifications and the weapons & equipment available to that suit.

Mechanized Infantry (MI)
Sometimes attached to the Armor Branch, Mechanized Infantry are vehicle-based infantry units. The small-est organizational unit of the MI are two vehicle squad instead of a four marine fire team. 3 squads (6 vehi-cles) make up a platoon and 2 to 3 platoons (12 to 18 vehicles) make up your typical company. At the com-pany level, formations are no longer pure do to the fact that missions have logistical & support units attached. Some of the most popular vehicles used by the Infantry Branch are Hummer Jeeps for their protection and heavily modified Argo Dune Buggy’s for the speed, adaptability & durability.

Snipers
A sniper is a specially trained infantryman who can hit a target another lifeform from an extremely long range. Not only are they a marksman, but they have to be efficient intelligence gathers. Before they neutralize a target, they have to study that target days (possibly weeks) to learn where they go, who they go with and how much security they have with them.

Snipers function as two-man teams. A spotter and a shooter. The spotter monitors the target, atmospheric conditions, ensures their location is secure and communi-cates such as HQ or other forward operating position. Sometimes a third person called the Flanker will be added to the team. If added, the Flanker will carry extra ammo and take on security operations for the sniper team.

Snipers are a master of their terrain. To effectively observe their target, they must blend in and become the terrain around them. A tradition of the sniper trade is the Ghillie Suit. Ghillie Suits are a form of camouflage clothing that allows the sniper to blend into their terrain.

Snipers are highly trained operators within the Infantry Branch. While they are working though their Infantry train-ing, they will be trained on both projectile & phaser weapons. The three most popular weapons used by snip-ers are the R217 10mm Rifle, R969 Phaser Rifle & R488 13mm Rifle. A phaser rifle was adopted by the SFMC to target armored & aerial objectives. It has been said that an effectively trained sniper can empty the 10 round magazine / clip of an EMPW-Based sniper rifle within 60 seconds. They can also hit a humanoid target at well over 2 km away.

Once they complete their Infantry training, they will be trained in one additional branch of service. While it is the operator's choice, the most popular branches are Special Operations & Medical. A lot of snipers will choose Medical because they can learn about the anatomy of different species. To know your opponents anatomy will make you a more efficient killer.

The job of the sniper can be emotionally & psychologically taxing. Due to the nature of watching the same person day in & day out, psychological problems can develop over time. Two such conditions are Texas Tower Syndrome & Munich Massacre Syndrome. It is also possibly that a sniper may begin to feel an emo-tional attachment to the target. If this occurs, then its possible the sniper will ignore the order to fire when giv-en. Finally, its also conceivable that a sniper could lose all feelings altogether. If this occurs, then the sniper will have lost the ability to determine who is friend, foe or neutral. At this point, they have become a lethal kill-ing machine.

Reconnaissance
A cornerstone of the SFMC Infantry, reconnaissance marines are information gatherers. They go into enemy territory to gather intelligence about enemy forces & structures. That gathered intelligence is then relayed back to a forward operating base or command, so that they can plan missions. Recon marines come in two types; Recon & Force Recon.

Recon
Recon marines are standard information gathers. As stated above, they go behind enemy lines to gather what intelligence they can and report back to their platoon. In addition to information gathering, recon ma-rines may also scout ahead of their larger unit looking for traps, obstacles & possible ambushes. They can also be used to call in support units such as Air, Artillery or call HQ to advise retreat if they spot advancing enemy forces that could overwhelm marines on the ground.

Force Recon
Force Recon marines are specially trained recon operators. Force Recon marines will go further behind ene-my lines than there recon brethren. This means they may operate independently for extended periods of time; staying out of contact with HQ. FORCE recon can also be used for Direct Action operations, but more on that in a moment. Force Recon typically take on two different operation types; Green Ops or Black Ops.
 * Green Ops
 * Green ops are the majority of missions taken on by Force Recon Teams. They will be tasked to go deep behind enemy lines to gather actionable intelligence, travel to & assess damage caused to ene-my operations after artillery strikes have occurred, set up sensors to remotely gather enemy intelli-gence after teams leave the area and finally, scout areas for possible landing & drop zones for pend-ing marine operations.
 * Black Ops
 * Black ops missions are missions of direct action against the enemy. These missions might include seizures of enemy forward operating areas, bases, or vessels. They can also be teamed with a sniper team to assist in the carrying out of a planned assassination. Finally, A black ops mission could be created to provide security for an important person such as the Federation President when they leave Earth.

Recon Team
A recon will have between four to six operators. In a six man team, the following positions will be filled:
 * Point Man - Corporal or Lance Corporal
 * The Point Man scouts the terrain ahead. He looks for hazards, traps & ambushes. He periodically meets with the Team Leader to discuss what he’s found. Since he has to move the quickest, he car-ries the lightest load.
 * Team Leader (Sergeant or Staff Sergeant)
 * The Team Leader is responsible for the team. He’s closest to the Point Man, so he walks second in the group. He makes sure the team stays together & stay on the path as indicated by the Point man.
 * Comm Operator (Corporal)
 * The Comm Operator carries the communications equipment. They work with the Team Leader to re-port what the teams found & to call for help. Their load is heaviest based on the comm gear.
 * Assistant Comm Operator (Corporal or Lance Corporal)
 * The Assistant Comm Operator carries backup comm gear. They also assist the Comm Operator in keeping a clear communication channel open between the team and HQ.
 * Slack Man (Private First Class or Lance Corporal)
 * The Slack Man is the junior member of the team. He is also the team’s mule. The Slack man carries all the equipment, ammo & other gear that team members don’t want to carry. To further his load, they have begun issuing a P-622A2 Squad Automatic Weapon for him to carry.
 * Assistant Team Leader (Sergeant or Corporal)
 * The Assistant Team Leader is charged with team security & accountability. He makes sure the team has no stragglers. If the team needs to halt, then he is the person counting heads. Prior to a mission, the Assistant Team Leader will supervise the tasks given to the other team members. This frees up the Team Leader to plan the mission with HQ.

Cryptography
Cryptography comes from the ancient Greek word kryptós, meaning "hidden, secret". It is the means for secur-ing communication in the presence of an adversary. The goal of cryptography is simple: to prevent someone from reading private messages. Prior to the modern age, there wasn’t much difference between cryptography and encryption, it was the same basic operation. Typically, it was simple letter substitution. These came in many forms – reverse alphabet, half-reversed alphabet, numbers for letters, and reversed words are just a few examples. World War I saw the invention of rotor cipher machines, which allowed the code to be more random and complex. With the invention of computers in World War II, cryptography came of age.

Types of Encryptions
Caesar Cipher The Caesar Cipher dates to the days of the Roman Empire. It’s named after the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar who used it to encrypt his military correspondence. Simply put, a Caesar Cipher is a substitution cipher. The sender chooses letters to represent other let-ters. It can be completely random or something as simple as a letter shift where Z repre-sents A in the cipher. If the receiver has the same decoding key as the sender, they can decipher the encrypted message. Scytale A scytale was a form of encryption used by the Spartan military. A scytale is a trans-position cipher where a piece of leather is wrapped around a wooden rod. The mes-sage is then written in a straight line and carried to the next line when the sender reaches the end of the leather strip. The strip is then unwound from the wood rod and sent to the receiver.

If the message was intercepted, it was unreadable because the enemy most likely would not have a wooden rod of the correct length & width.

Enigma Machine One of the most famous machines ever used for the purposes of encrypting messages was the German Naval Enigma, which saw widespread use during both the First and Second World War. This machine is beautiful in its simplicity. Basically, it is a wooden typewriter with a series of trigger wheels inside which give you an output on a lighted board. This is then added to by a current board which additionally encrypts the message. Any message encoded with proper Enigma will require the user to not only know the initial settings for the three (four wheeled versions appeared later in World War II, but the fourth wheel was stationary) letter wheels, but also the connec-tions on the plug board. All of this was done to confound the enemy to the message that was being delivered, and for the longest time, it worked.

What eventually killed the Enigma’s effectiveness was the hard work of the men and women of Bletchly Park in England. Through the sacrifice of the Poles, who got them their first working copy of the encoding wheels & plug board, to their use of the Tu-ring Bombe, a giant computer of sorts, the Enigma Messages of the German Naval Forces were soon being read in almost real time. This was no small undertaking, considering the limited Computer ability in the 1940’s. From World War II onward, encryption, & Naval Encryption has become more advanced.

Modern cryptography
Modern Cryptography is a combination of mathematics, physics, computer science, communication science, and electrical engineering. And while cryptography is used in everyday applications like passwords, e-commerce, currency (such as BitCoin), and public/civilian electronic communication protection, where it is most critical is in military communications.

In general, there are three types of cryptography: Symmetric Key Cryptography, Asymmetric Key Cryptog-raphy, and Hash Functions. While the methods for each type differ, they all have the same basic process. Plaintext is converted to a coded or ciphertext, which is making the text garbled enough such that the intend-ed receiver of the text can only decode it if they have the key. This process is known as encryption. The pro-cess of converting the gibberish back to plaintext is known as decryption.

Symmetric Key Cryptography Symmetric encryption is one of the oldest and most widely used encryption techniques. Symmetric Key Cryptography uses a single common key. Both the sender and the receiver must have the same key for this type of coding to work. Symmetric Key Cryptography is widely used in today’s Internet and primarily consists of two types of algorithms, Block and Stream. A block cipher breaks down plaintext mes-sages into fixed-size blocks before converting them into ciphertext using a key, en-crypting the information bit-by-bit. A stream cipher, conversely, breaks a plaintext message down into single bits, which then are converted individually into ciphertext using key bits. While symmetric key systems tend to be faster and simpler, the prob-lem is that sender and receiver must somehow exchange key in such a way that no one else has it.

Asymmetric Key Cryptography. Asymmetric cryptography is also called public-key cryptography. It’s a process that uses a pair of related keys – a private key and a public key -- to encrypt and decrypt a message and protect it from unauthorized access or use. The primary benefit of asymmetric cryptography is increased data security is the primary benefit of asym-metric cryptography. Because users are never required to reveal or share their pri-vate keys, it is the most secure encryption process as it decreases the chances of a cybercriminal discovering a user's private key during transmission. Many protocols rely on asymmetric cryptography, including the protocols which make HTTPS possi-ble: transport layer security (TLS) and secure sockets layer (SSL).

Hash Functions A Hash Function is a function that doesn’t use a key. It converts an alphanumeric or alphanumeric key to a small integer value. That mapped integer value is used as an index in the hash table. To simplify it, the hash function maps a significant number or string to a small integer that can be used as the index in the hash table. There are several different hash functions that use numeric or alphanumeric keys. Four examples are Divi-sion Method, Mid Square Method, Folding Method, and Multiplication Method. Many operating systems use hash functions to encrypt passwords.

Advantages of Cryptography
There are many advantageous features of cryptography. These include confidentiality (only the intended re-cipient gets the message), integrity (the data can’t be modified while in transition without it being detected), and authentication (the identities of the parties sending and receiving the data are confirmed through the en-cryption/decryption process

Unconventional Warfare
The School of Unconventional Warfare is one the worst kept secrets in the Infantry Branch. Everyone knows it exists, but everyone talks like it doesn't. Its also one of the most sought after advanced training programs. The reasons is that not everyone can do it. The program picks its recruits as opposed to the Infantry Branch assigning marines to the training program.

History
The Unconventional Warfare School draws its inspiration from another marine fighting force. A little over 400 years ago, an organization known as the United States Marine Corps created a program called the Marine Raiders.

During the 2nd World War, the Raiders were created by order of President Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt wanted the marine infantry to have a special operations force similar to the British Commandos. The result was an amphibious light infantry unit that could land and work behind enemy lines to harass the enemy or complete specific missions.

The original Raiders were made up of two battalions. One battalion was commanded by Colonel William Do-novan and the other was led by Major Evans Carlson. Colonel Donovan used traditional marine doctrine to train his men while Major Carlson took a less traditional approach.

Major Carlson was an intelligence officer assigned to work with Chinese irregulars during Japan’s occupation of China. The Chinese fought a guerrilla warfare against the occupying Japanese forces. This informal fighting style made an impression on the major.

Once he was given command of the 2nd Marine Raiders, Major Carlson molded them with the philosophies he learned from the Chinese. He put less emphasis on rank as a means of team building. He referred to the soldiers under his command as leaders & fighters. Everyone knew their job and how to execute it. He also brought to the marines the Chinese phrase “Gung Ho” which loosely translates to “Work Together”.

Disbandment
At the conclusion of World War 2, the Marine Raiders were disbanded. The post war marines no longer had a need for commando units. Advances in technology & fire support also ended the need for specialized light assault units. In the end, missions that could be assigned to the Raiders could also be handled by normal light infantry units.

Second Life in the 21st Century
In June 2003, the USMC stood up the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MCFSOC). The first unit of the new MCFSOC was known as Detachment One. Detachment One would deploy to Iraq in 2004 ahead of main forces of Operation Desert Shield. Detachment One would lead to the creation of MARSOC in 2006 and the formation of the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion. In 2014, the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion would be renamed the 1st Marine Raider Battalion.

Revival within the SFMC
During the 2nd Klingon - Federation war and continued hostilities with The Dominion, the SFMC realized con-ventional warfare operations were not cutting it. The Dominion had a vastly different philosophy of war and they were all to eager to share it with the Federation.

To combat this style of warfare, the SFMC would go back to the drawing board to create a new type of fighting force. The SFMC sent word to all the member world of the Federation seeking guidance on how to organize this new unit. Several member worlds submitted presentations, but none were what they SFMC was looking for. This plan would sit on the back burner until a staff officer in Tracom realized the idea was that they need to look to the past, not the present.

As the head of the Infantry Branch, Lieutenant General Michael Timko was privy to these discussions. Lieutenant General Timko remembered that he did a historical research project on the original Marine Raiders as part of his officer training.

After retrieving a copy of his report, Lieutenant General Timko contacted his superior General Michael Malotte about the using the raider concept to train a new type of Infantryman. With the support of General Malotte, a meeting was scheduled with Commandant of the Corps Rey Cordero to pitch the idea. Commandant Cordero quickly realized this is how the marines would counter The Dominion. Following the meeting, Commandant Cordero tasked FORCECOM in consultation with Lieutenant General Timko & General Malotte to start drafting a training program for the first batch of recruits to attend training.

Organization
Branch Basics Motto As a branch school, Unconvetional Warfare does not have a separate motto. The Combadge Each branch of the Starfleet Marine Corps has a unique combadge for their members to wear on their uniforms. Even though Unconventional Warfare is part of the Infantry Branch, the SFMC makes a special dispensation for them. Since training in this pro-gram is not only hard to complete, but also exclusive, the SFMC provides them with a unique unique combadge. This special combadge would be akin to the Navy Seals Tri-dent that was worn by members of the Old Earth US Navy.

This unique combadge tells other marines that the marine before them was selected and graduated from Unconventional Warfare School.


 * 1) Unconventional Warfare (UW) Units
 * 2) UW Units are organized as battalions and are led by a Lieutenant Colonel (O-5). Currently there are four UW Battalions in the SFMC. Each UW Battalion has headquarters company, but after that, its structure is based on the marines within that unit. As an example, the organizational elements of the 1st Raider Battalion are:
 * 3) UW Battalion - Contains all necessary marines to process orders and formulate plans based on those orders. The Headquarters company is overseen by the Battalion OIC and his or her adjutant is a Cap-tain (O-3). The senior most NCO of the unit is a Master Sergeant (E-8).
 * 4) A UW Battalion would contain more than one type of Field of Service. As mentioned earlier, the TO&E of the UW Battalion utilizes three Infantry Fields of Service: specially trained light infantryman, Mechanized Infantry & Aero Mobile for transport.
 * 5) Headquarters Company - Contains all necessary marines to process orders and formulate plans based on those orders. The Headquarters company is overseen by the Battalion OIC and his or her adjutant is a Captain (O-3). The senior most NCO of the unit is a Master Sergeant (E-8).
 * 6) Reconnaissance Company - The Recon Company gathers the lay of the land and disposition of ene-my forces. Within the company is a Recon Platoon and a Sniper Platoon. Each platoon is made up 3 squads that can be tasked as a group or as individual units with own unique orders during a mission. The Recon company is led by a First Lieutenant (O-2). The senior NCO is a Staff Sergeant (E-6)
 * 7) Light Infantry Assault Company - The main fighting force of the battalion. The Light Infantry Assault Company is composed of 3 squads which can be further broken down into 2 fire teams each. The overall company is led by a First Lieutenant (O-2). The senior NCO leads the first squad and holds the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6) while the remaining two squads are overseen by NCO’s holding the rank of Sergeant (E-5).
 * 8) Support Company - The support company handles all the logistical needs of the battalion. Due to its unique needs, it is not subdivided into squads. The composition of the support company can include: weapon smiths, armorers, cooks, mechanics, etc. The head of the support company is usually a 2nd Lieutenant (O-1).
 * 9) Other examples of companies that can be part of a UW battalions are:
 * Powered Infantry Company
 * Combat Engineer Company
 * Fire Support Company

Unconventional Warfare Operator Selection
UW training is the only SFMC infantry training that you cannot apply for. To get the opportunity to join a UW battalion, you must be selected. The UW look for candidates in all various branches to join current and future UW battalions that the SFMC plans to stand up. The selection process is as follows:

The first one reviews the subject to assess their personality and character. If they pass this meeting, then the second recruiter meets the subject to assess the candidates psychological makeup. If the candidate fails either test, they are removed from consideration. Should they impress both recruiters, then a report is written up on them and passed along to the Selection Committee. The committee will review the field report and review a presentation of the candidate's prior missions, training, progress reports & commendations. The committee will then vote. It takes three committee members to approve a recruit to be selected for training. If the marine is selected for training, they don’t know right away. About a week af-ter returning from shore leave, they will get a message on their PADD. Opening the message, shows an image of the UW Combadge. This informs the marine they have just been selected for UW School. After receiving the message, the marine is afforded 24 hours to decide if they want to attend UW School. If they agree to attend training, their Unit OIC’s is contacted with fake orders or some other cover story to explain why they are being trans-ferred to another unit or being assigned to a planetary garrison. During the night before the marine is to leave for their new assignment, they are beamed out of their barracks. For all intent & purposes, their former squad believes they have left for their new assign-ment. 5. Final Assessment - The final assessment of UW Training is a simulated mission. UW Trainees that make it this far are beamed onto a Holodeck that resembles the barracks while they are asleep. They awake the following morning unaware that the final exam has begun. The final exam has the marines enter a holodeck to complete a final simulated training mission. After completing what they think is the final exam. What the marines don’t know is the simulated mission has been designed so that they fail. Upon completion of the simulation, the training officer informs the their failure and advises they will be transported to Starbase 46 aboard the USS Broadsword be-fore returning to their prior assignments. The marines muster in their assigned area of the ship (usually a cargo bay converted into a marine barracks. As marines travel to Star Base 46, the Broadsword comes under attack from a threat spe-cies (Dominion, Breen, Cardassians, etc.). Due to the simulated damage to the barracks, the training officer appears to be severely wounded. Before they die, they tell the marines to remember their training and repel the boarding parties. After leaving the barracks, the marines will first encounter the XO. The XO advises them that the boarding parties have overrun shipboard security and Ship’s Captain has been taken hostage. The XO tells the marines its up to them to formulate a plan to rescue the captain and retake the Broad-sword. What the marines don’t know is that this is also a no win scenario. Any marine who appears to be vaporized by an enemy fire is actually beamed to a holding area. If they attempt to retake the bridge they are captured. Any orders given by the marine commanding the detachment end in failure usual-ly the death of the marine who was ordered to perform the task. After all the operators are either killed or captured, the simulation ends and the real training officer advises them that even in failure they passed as this assessment was really a test of character, lead-ership ability and ability to perform the duties under the most extreme conditions. IN MANUAL 27 3.03.7.7 Unconventional Warfare Missions Operators who graduate from the UW School undertake a variety of dangerous missions. Some of which are: 1) Special Reconnaissance - Operators will be sent behind enemy lines for extended periods of time to send back information about enemy troop movements and size of forces. The gathered information is used to prepare for upcoming assaults. 2) Preparation of Environment - Operators will be sent ahead of main forces to secure & hold territory where the SFMC intends to set up Forward Operating Bases for planned assaults or invasions. 3) Guerilla Warfare - Operators are sent in to harass enemy forces using guerilla warfare tactics to con-fuse the enemy, so they don’t know who is attacking them. 4) Urban Combat - Sometimes the government in power is the enemy. Operators will be tasked with assisting a local resistance unit in overthrowing a local despot or other political figure that is endan-gering a municipality or city-state. 5) Counter-Insurgency - Operators are sent in to cut off enemy supply lines and destroy or capture high value targets such as communication arrays or weapons depots. 6) Counter-Terrorism - The SFMC will deploy Operators at the request of a foreign government to eliminate foreign groups operating within their territory that harassing their citizens or stealing re-sources. 7) Foreign Internal Defense - The SFMC will deploy Operators to assist a Federation protectorate to eliminate splinter factions of the populace that are attempting to lead coup against the legitimate gov-ernment. 8) Drone Operation - Deployment of drones to conduct discrete reconnaissance, target identification or assassination. 3.04 Inside a Marine Strike Group (Infantry) Having described a typical Marine Infantry unit, it must now be noted that there really is no such thing as a typical Marine Infantry unit. As said before, Infantry units are organized as mission objectives and logistical considerations dictate. For this reason, you would be hard pressed to find two identical Infantry companies in the entire SFMC. However, our discussion of unit organization would not be complete without a look at least one deployed Infantry unit. 3.04.1 The Neighbors of the Beast The 667th Powered Infantry (Aeromobile-SOC) is typical only in that it is as specialized and unique as any other Marine Infantry unit. A rein-forced Company in size, it is designated as an MSG (Infantry). And although it is a Powered Infantry unit, it also has organic aerospace and Light Infantry elements that help it achieve its current mission of acting as the Rapid Deployment Force for the Second Fleet aboard the USS Yamato. As an RDF unit, the 667th is both Aeromobile and Special Operations Capable, making it a bit of a “kitchen sink” unit. It does, however, serve as a good example of how diverse and specialized SFMC Infan-try units can become. Before it had to fill its current role as the Fleet’s RDF, the 667th was a straight-up Powered Infantry company with three Powered Rifle platoons and a Powered Heavy Weapons platoon. Now, of course, things are substantially different. The following page shows a breakdown of the force that makes up the 667th. As a straight-up Powered Infantry company, the Powered Recon platoon is replaced with a Heavy Weapons Platoon. The Light IN MANUAL 28 Infantry Rifle platoon and Scout/Sniper squad are drawn from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Brigade. The air element comes from the 2nd Marine Air Wing and consists of a Tactical Airlift Squadron (VMS-667), rein-forced with a detachment of A-78 Dragons from VMA-78. On the next page is a breakdown of the 667th Marine Strike Group. 3.05 SFMC (the club) Unit Breakdown Below you will find a breakdown of how the club known as the STARFLEET Marine Corps functions as op-posed to how the fictional Starfleet Marine Corps that we discussed earlier in this section. Fire Team 4 marines in the same geographic location such as the same city or town. Platoon If a Marine Strike Group of a chapter covers more than one city, then the Marine OIC could declare each city its own platoon. A good example would be the 5 boroughs of New York City. The boroughs are Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. As long as the borough has suffi cient marines, the OIC could say it’s a platoon of the Marine Strike Group. Marine Strike Group (MSG) All the marines that are part of the same STARFLEET chapter. Battalion (BN) All the marine units in one area. In the United States this is one US state. STARFLEET Region One is made up of Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Battalion would have an OIC that the Marine Strike Group OIC’s report to. When you go outside the United States, each country serves a single Battal ion. Brigade (BDE) When you group several Battalions together you get a Brigade. Using the previous example. The 8 Battalions found in Region One would form a sin gle Brigade known as the First Brigade. The First Brigade is overseen by an OIC to who the Battalion OIC’s report to. Building on the example above, several countries form Brigades. The Sixth Brigade is made up of Ireland (1BN), England (2BN, Northern Ireland (3BN), Scotland (4BN), & Wales (5BN), If there geographically separated, a single country being their own Brigade. The country of Iceland is the 1st Battal ion and the only Battalion in the Ninth Brigade. Division Several SFMC Brigades form a single Marine Division. In the United States, the 1st, 2nd, 7th & 15th Brigades make up the 1st Marine Division. STARFLEET Marine Corps All of the marine divisions combined. Please refer to the current edition of the STARFLEET Marine Corps Marine Force Manual for further infor-mation on the breakdown of Battalions, Brigades & Marine Divisions.
 * 1) Selection - The selection process begins by identifying a suitable marine. An ideal candidate meets some of the following characteristics; however, these are not the only qualities:
 * 2) Is a non-commissioned officer (E-5 or better) or warrant officer (Note: officer candidates are taken right after they complete officer training if they show exceptional ability. They enter UW training as a 2nd Lieutenant).
 * 3) Speaks one or more other languages such as Klingon, Romulan, Vulcan, etc.
 * 4) Has no serious discipline in their personnel file.
 * 5) Has been in their present assignment a minimum of 3 years and has excelled at their MOS.
 * 6) Has received exceptional marks on three of their last five physical fitness exams.
 * 7) Has received excellent marks from their Commanding Officer on three of their last five personal evaluations.
 * 8) First Meeting - When the UW School identifies a marine that they would like to consider for training, two recruiters are dispatched. They accidentally meet the candidate while they are on shore leave and have conversations with them. What the marine does not know is they are actually being inter-viewed & profiled.
 * 1) Selection - After candidates have been identified, the UW stands up a committee of five current UW Operators to be review them for acceptance to UW School. The committee has an odd number, so votes cannot deadlock.
 * 1) Training - UW Training last 12 weeks and is divided up between physical assessments, class-room instruction and training missions. If a marine fails any three assessments during the 12 week period, they are then washed out. If, at any time, the training becomes too much for the marine, then they can tap their combadge three times to signal they quit. Once you quit, you are beamed to a holding area for transport back to your former unit. Your fellow marines never know that you washed out of UW training.